Monthly Archives: April 2015

Last week I mentioned how far IOT has come along in 9 months, inspiring new products such as driverless cars. One other product that IOT has inspired is smart toys, and it proves that IOT is slowly creeping in to our everyday lives whether we like it or not.

Smart toys, are toys that are interactive and they also have the ability to remember what you say. These toys are linked to the internet and can answer questions that you ask whilst also remembering facts about you which can be as simple as remembering your name to wishing you a happy birthday on your birthday. Within the next 5 years, you can expect more advanced toys that will be able to have conversations with your children and help them with their homework and studying.

Anything that can help children is to be applauded but up to a point.
Do we want our children growing up with what effectively is a talking robot with a very advanced brain?
Do we want our kids to have a toy in their bedroom that could spy on them and record audio and possibly video?
Do we want our kids to rely on smart toys when they want to find out the answer to something, and what if the answers are incorrect?

When I was a child I was known to ask my parents lots of questions, as well querying my teachers when they told the class something that I felt was not correct and this is all part of growing up.
Parents love to be involved in their child’s lives as much as possible, even helping them with their homework, answering questions that they have and also playing with them at the weekend.

The experience of growing up is one that is to be treasured and technology can help it up to a point. Computers can help a child gain new knowledge as it is the gateway to the modern encyclopaedia otherwise known as the internet, provided it is well policed. Computers can also be used to help create school projects, edit movies and pictures as well creating computer programs and apps for smartphones and tablets.

Great initiatives like CoderDojo, which is a global network of free, volunteer-led, independent, community, based programming clubs for young people. Children are taught how to use computers responsibly by learning how to create apps, programs, websites and animation in a nurturing environment. If we can embrace CoderDojo and other initiatives like it, we encourage our children to be creative and use modern technology to help them better themselves. What would you rather see a smart child or a smart toy?